Food + AI = Personalized Flavor. Is This The Future of Food?

McDonald’s spent decades perfecting the art of serving the same hamburger across 36,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. In fact, it’s a mark of pride for them. And since Mickey D’s huge success, more fast food brands have worked to ensure consistency between locations.

Jason Cohen, chief executive, began in 2012 with a system to analyze tea tasting notes. In 2016, his company was accepted into a start-up accelerator and expanded their platform.

Today, Gastograph AI uses flavor notes and demographic information from professional tasters to help food and beverage producers make informed, data-driven decisions.

“One day,” McBain writes, “you might be able to hold your smartphone up to a vending machine and order a unique Coca-Cola, with a recipe formulated to appeal to your particular palate, and continually tweaked according to your feedback.”

Of course, it’s a long step from here to a personalized vending machines. But this is one of the coolest AI applications we’ve seen lately.

In fact, few industries are more suited for AI innovation. And as this research brief from CB Insights shows, the energy industry is turning to AI to help increase productivity, cut costs, and improve reliability.

The 4 Largest Airlines Are Flying High With AI

Earlier this year, TechEmergence researched how the 4 largest airlines are using artificial intelligence. They found that the most popular AI applications for airlines are

AI assistants

Smart logistics

Facial recognition

Much like other retail customer service chatbots, airlines are using AI assistants to respond to customer questions and voice commands. These assistants use natural language processing to determine the customer’s intent, and then present them with relevant information.

Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, is using AI to automate airline operations and improve logistics. Southwest analyst teams use pattern recognition and “time series analysis” to identify and trace glitches in data reports.

Finally, Delta has invested $600,000 in four automated self-service bag-check kiosks that use facial recognition to verify customer identity. The new system, Delta claims, will save customers time and free up Delta employees to focus on other areas of customer service.

Further Reading

Have some more interesting AI applications you’d like to tell us about? Tell us in the comments below, or tweet us @Lexalytics!

In the meantime, stay tuned to our blog for more AI news and insights, interest pieces and thought leadership.